The US administration has been contacted by "50, 60, maybe 70 countries" with a request to start negotiations on imposing "mirror" tariffs. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated this on Fox News, discussing US tariff negotiations with other countries.
"April, May, maybe all of June will be tense," he noted. "We are at the maximum level of tariffs, and I hope that as a result of good negotiations, we will reduce them. But it will depend on other countries. President Trump will personally participate in these negotiations, and he, like many of us, is convinced that the playing field is unfair. So the negotiations will be tough." Bessent expressed this, emphasizing that this applies to those countries that do not take countermeasures.
He was responding to a question about possibly starting negotiations on a trade deal with Japan in the next two weeks.
The US Treasury Secretary said he expected Japan to be given priority because "they responded quickly." He also noted the critical strategic and economic ties between the US and Japan.
In his speech, Bessent defended the Trump administration's policy, citing trade deficits as a justification for imposing reciprocal tariffs on some countries. He added, "Research shows that non-tariff barriers are the main obstacle for the US, even though we have free and equal access to these markets."
